Sharp County record., 1887-01-20
Amazon, or Mississippi, if ming.s. IN one,

you want a thronel Select it from the mill
ion FURNISHED elevations. Do you want
croWnl Pick it out of that mountain OF
diamond coronets. Do you want your old
church friends of earth around youi Begin
to hum an old revival tune and they Will
flock from all quarters to revel with you IN
sacred reminiscence. All the earth Tor
those who are here on earth at the time OF
continental and planetary distribution, and
all the heavens for those who are there.
That Heavenly distribution of spoils will
be a surprise to many. Here enters Heaven
the soul of man who took up great deal
Of room on earth, but sacrificed little, ana
among his good works selfishness was evil
dent. He Just crowds through the SHINING
gate, but tits very tight squeeze, SO that
the door-keeper has to pull away to get him
in, and this man expects half OF Heaven
for his share of trophies, and he would
like a monopoly of all his splendor and TO
purchase lots in the suburbs, so that ne
could get advantage from the growth OF
the CITY. Well, he had a little grace OF
heart, just enough to get him through, ana
to him is given a secondhand crown,
which one of the saints wore at the start,
but exchanged for brighter one as he
went on from glory to glory. And he IS
put in an old house once occupied by an an
gel who was hurled out of Heaven at the
time of Satan's rebellion.
Right after him comes a soul that makes
a great stir among the celestills, and the
angels rush to the scene, each bringing
her dazzling coronet. Who is shea over
what realm on earth was she queenf Ia
what great Dusseldorf festival was she the
cantatrice? Neither She was an invalid
who never left her room for twenty years;
but she was strong in prayer, and she
prayed down revival after revival, and PEN
1ecost after pentecost, upon the churches,
end with her pale hands she knit many
mitten or tippet for the poor, and with her
coutrivances she added joy to many holi-
day festival, and now, with those thln
hands so strong for kindness, and with
those white lips so strong for supphcatloh,
she has won coronation, and enthrone-
ment, aud jubilee. And Christ says to the
angels who have brought each a crown Tor
the glorifed invalid "No, not these; they
are not good enough. But in the jeWeled
vase at the right hand side Of my throne
there is one that | have been preparing Tor
many year. and for her every pang lhaye
set an amethyst, and for her every good L
have set pearl. Fetch it now and fulfill
the promise I gave her long ago IN the
sick room: "Be thou faithful unto death
and I will give thee crown OF life"
But notice that there is only one being in
the universe who can and will distribute
the trophies of Heaven and earth. 1t is
the Devine ruler, the Commander-in-Chicf
of the centuries, the Champion OF the ages,
the Universal Conqueror, the Son OF God,
Jesus. You will take the spois from His
hand, or never take them at all. Have
His friendship and you may defy all time
and eternity; but without it you were a
pauper, though you had universe at your
command.
We are told in Revelation that Jacobs
twelve sons were so honored as to have
the twelve gates of Heaven named after
them-over one gate of Heaven, Naphtali;
over another gate of Heaven, lssachar;
over another, Dan; over another, Cad;
over another, Zobulon; over another,
Judah, and so on. But ChristS name is
written over all the gates, and on every
panel of the gates, and have His help, Ills
pardon, His intercession, His atonement l
must, or be forlorn wretch forever. My
Lord and Ny God! make me and all who
hear me this day, and all to whom these
words shall come, be Thy repentant, he.
lieving, sworn, consecrated and ransomed
followers forever.
What day it will be! This entire assem-
blage would rise to your feet if you could
realize it, the day in which Christ shall, In
fulfllment ofmy text, divide the spoil. It
was great day when Queen Victoria, IN
the midst of the Crimean war, distributed
medals to the soldiers who had come home
sick and wounded. AT the Horse Guards,
in the presence of the royal family, the in
iured men were carried in or came on
crutches-C Colonel Trowbridge, who lost
both feet at Inkerman; and Captain Sayer,
who had the ankle joint OF his right leg
shot off at Alma; and Captain Currie, his
disabled limb supported by soldier, and
others manned, and disfigured, and eX-
hausted-and with her own hand the Queen
gave each the Crimean medal. And what
triumphant days for those soldiers when,
further on, they received the French medal
with the imperial eagle, and the Turkish
medal with its representation of four flags
France, Turkey, England and Sardinia
and beneath it amap of Crimea spread over
gun wheel.
And what rewards are suggested to all
readers of history by the mere mention Of
the Waterloo medal, and the Cape medal,
and the Gold Cross medal, and the medal
struck for bravery in our American war.
But how insignificant are these compared
with the day when the the good soldiers of
Jesus Christ shall come in out Of the bat.
ties of this world, and in the presence Of
all the piled up glories of the cieemed
and unfallen, Jesus, our King shall divide
the spoil The more wounds, the greater
the inheritance. The longer the forced
march, the more vivid the trophy. The
more terrific the exhaustion, the more
untroubled the transport. Not the gift of
a brilliant ribbon or a medal Of brass or
silver or gold but kingdom in which we
are to reign forever and ever. Mansions
on the eternal hills, dominions of unfading
power, empires of unending love, conti-
nents of unending light, Atlantic and
Pacific Oceans of billowing joy.
1t was a great day when Aurelian, the
Roman Emperor, came back from his vic
tories. In the front of the procession were
wild beasts from all lands, 1900 gladiators
richly clad, wagon loads of crowns pre-
sented by conquered cities; among the
captives, Syrians, Egyptians, GOths, Van
dals, Samaritans, Franks; and Zenobia,